U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that it will provide additional assistance, which Thune requested on June 27, to drought-stricken livestock producers. Thune asked USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to reverse the agency’s order to destroy hay on certain CRP-enrolled land and authorize emergency haying and grazing of CRP for all counties for which any part of the border lies within 150 miles of any portion of a county approved for emergency grazing of CRP.
“I appreciate the common-sense decision by USDA to fulfill my request to allow hay that is harvested on CRP-enrolled acres subject to mid-contract management to be used for feed assistance rather than it being destroyed,” said Thune. “The additional counties made eligible for emergency grazing are also a welcome relief to South Dakota producers. I will continue to work with Secretary Perdue to ensure our producers have the tools and resources needed to manage through these difficult drought conditions.”
Additional details on today’s USDA announcement:
- For any county in which any part of its border lies within 150 miles of any county approved for emergency grazing of CRP, USDA will allow CRP contract holders who hay their acreage, according to their mid-contract management plan, to donate their hay to livestock producers in the drought-stricken counties.
- USDA will allow immediate access to emergency grazing of CRP for any county in which any part of its border lies within 150 miles of a county approved for emergency grazing of CRP.